36-Week Baby Bump!

Gettin' lovely before dinner at Blue Hill with John & Anna.

For Example

Love on All Sides

We're in the midst of a week when Michael and I bask in love from all sides.

I won't do justice to the emotions of the week, but the events have included two baby showers, a night of poker, a communal birthday gift, and a lot of good will. I can't quite wrap my head around all the love that has been poured over us - from my colleagues, my friends, Michael's friends, our New York family. I just know how overwhelmingly grateful I am for it.

More details soon, but I just had to share the love!

35-Week Baby Bump!

Just So Sad

Really?????? We can't be bothered to eat fruit?! This just makes me so sad.

Valentines

Happy Valentine's Day!

This morning, Michael and I woke early to enjoy our usual Sunday morning routine. He has already begun the trip downtown to attend our favorite gym classes of the week. Michael will take 2 classes, and I'll stick with one. While the first hour of a Sunday always leaves us wondering why we are wasting weekend mornings to wake so early, by 10:45 am, when we're both good and sweaty, we're grateful for the routine. After the gym, we'll pick up a Subway sandwich for my lunch and then park ourselves at Chipotle to read the Sunday paper and eat. Then we'll walk to our favorite bookstore, visit with our friends and head back uptown for a relaxing Sunday afternoon.

And today is Valentine's day! I already feel like I have 2 valentines to celebrate - Michael & our little lady. We're now officially in count-down mode. Sleep has become more difficult, and my body aches almost constantly now. The baby is 34-weeks now, and in just 3 more, she'll be full-term! I'm still trying to convince myself that she'll be born in early April (her due date is March 27th), but it's hard to not dream that she'll be a little early. Yesterday, as Michael and I talked about plans for visitors after she's born, we both started getting anxious, realizing how soon our lives will be turned upside down.

It's a pretty thrilling enterprise, this having-a-child business. I'm tired of worrying about how our lives will change, how our marriage will shift, how my professional life will upend. I'm really tired of people telling me how I'll never be prepared for these realities, how I'm going to be "SO TIRED," how hard the first few months are. I'm ready to go for it now! I guess this is the beauty of a 40-week growth process - we're given time to anticipate, to mentally prepare, before getting thrown in.

Because this baby girl is getting bigger, her movements are much more visible. My stomach is right out of Alien when she's active and awake. Last night, while reading, she was jumping and running so powerfully that I had to just put down my book and watch. She's already amusing me! Our lovely little girl, how excited we are to see you!

Does it get much better than this? Surrounded by love on all sides. Sharing my life - and soon another's - with a wonderful husband. Building a family together.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Topics I've Been Thinking About

I've wanted to write posts lately about the following things:

• Commuting;
• My addiction to technology;
• How nice people can be to pregnant ladies;
• Obama's State of the Union;
• Obama's exchange with the Republicans;
  
• Priorities.

But time didn't allow. Perhaps sometime soon! In the meantime, here are some great articles that I enjoyed recently:

• The State of the Union is Comatose by Frank Rich;
• Camus Fired Up by Maureen Dowd;
• Adults Only, Please by Thomas Friedman;
  

Heart

I know the picture is cheesy, but here's 10 seconds of our baby's heart beating from my last doctor's appointment!

33-Week Baby Bulge!

Zen

Do you want to know one of the most relaxing sounds Michael and I enjoy in our new apartment?

The cries of seagulls.

We are only 2 blocks from the Hudson River, and we often hear seagulls crying out as we eat breakfast in the morning. It's such a shock, living in the City, to hear birds, let alone ones you associate with warm summer days at the beach. Lovely.

32 Week Baby Bulge!